LibreOffice 6.0 : Automatic updates and more
- Srijit Sutradhar
The popular open-source alternative to Microsoft Office just got better. Daily builds of the open-source office suite LibreOffice rolls out new automatic updater built in, announced by lead developer Markus Mohrhard.
The current 64-bit daily builds are being built on a machine running the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12.2 operating system. The integrated auto updater uses delta updated to update the office suite to the latest snapshots. This is good news as only the changes will be downloaded, instead of the entire application itself.
”The work on the automatic updater has been going on for nearly a year now and is finally in a shape that we produce builds on TDF hardware that will automatically update using delta updates,” Markus. The updater code being used by the Libre team is built on the Mozilla Updater Code and was integrated into the office suite build system as a part of the GSoC 2015.
As of now, testing builds are available to download right away, but they are only for 64-bit systems. Being created on the SLES 12.2, they are expected to run on most Linux distros, including Ubuntu. They builds are tar.gz based and all you need to do is extract the compressed file and install them. There is also an updated packed with it. After installation, LibreOffice will automatically be updated whenever there is a new release. However, there isn't any means to control the auto-updates as of now, the only thing you can do is pay a close attention to the About dialog if you are that keen enough.
Now for the complicated part, the automatic updated will not work on native installations of LibreOffice. It will only work on those builds that you download from the official LibreOffice website, extract the archive, and run the installation binary. This is due to a fact that Linux operating systems are Sandboxed, meaning any external application cannot gain access to system files or settings and tamper with them, much like what you get on iOS. So, if you are that patient, you still have to rely on the repositories provided by your distros to be updated. And you wont be disappointed as popular repos like LibreOffice are very well maintained and are updated soon after a new release is dropped.
However, if you are that impatient, you can download the daily builds right now and try out the automatic updater to soothe your anxiety. Mind you, the builds are still alpha and are not guaranteed against crashes and further failures.
The popular open-source alternative to Microsoft Office just got better. Daily builds of the open-source office suite LibreOffice rolls out new automatic updater built in, announced by lead developer Markus Mohrhard.
The current 64-bit daily builds are being built on a machine running the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12.2 operating system. The integrated auto updater uses delta updated to update the office suite to the latest snapshots. This is good news as only the changes will be downloaded, instead of the entire application itself.
”The work on the automatic updater has been going on for nearly a year now and is finally in a shape that we produce builds on TDF hardware that will automatically update using delta updates,” Markus. The updater code being used by the Libre team is built on the Mozilla Updater Code and was integrated into the office suite build system as a part of the GSoC 2015.
As of now, testing builds are available to download right away, but they are only for 64-bit systems. Being created on the SLES 12.2, they are expected to run on most Linux distros, including Ubuntu. They builds are tar.gz based and all you need to do is extract the compressed file and install them. There is also an updated packed with it. After installation, LibreOffice will automatically be updated whenever there is a new release. However, there isn't any means to control the auto-updates as of now, the only thing you can do is pay a close attention to the About dialog if you are that keen enough.
Now for the complicated part, the automatic updated will not work on native installations of LibreOffice. It will only work on those builds that you download from the official LibreOffice website, extract the archive, and run the installation binary. This is due to a fact that Linux operating systems are Sandboxed, meaning any external application cannot gain access to system files or settings and tamper with them, much like what you get on iOS. So, if you are that patient, you still have to rely on the repositories provided by your distros to be updated. And you wont be disappointed as popular repos like LibreOffice are very well maintained and are updated soon after a new release is dropped.
However, if you are that impatient, you can download the daily builds right now and try out the automatic updater to soothe your anxiety. Mind you, the builds are still alpha and are not guaranteed against crashes and further failures.
Well that's it as of now, hope you enjoyed reading. Stay tuned for more updates on Linux distributions and FOSS applications. Till then, have a nice day. Peace.
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